Smile
by Jen Targaryen-Stark
Summary: There's a serial killer on the lose in Tulsa, but everyone thinks he's just a myth. He has many victims to choose from, especially the rich. So, what does he want with Ponyboy? Two-shot! R&R! T - Complete.
1. The Smile

Smile

**Chapter 1**

"…The Smile had moved to another location, once more. Tulsa, Oklahoma. Although he is said to be a myth, people should be aware of their surroundings. Four bodies have already been found in the area, and the presumed killer is the Smile. He is a demented, serial killer in a clown outfit…" Sodapop read the article, posed under the _Mass Murderer on the Loose_ title in the front page of the newspaper.

I was sitting in the couch, reading a book, listening silently at what Sodapop was saying.

Of course, the Smile was coming to Tulsa. He's already been in every other town in Oklahoma. I found the stories intriguing, yet incredibly fake. The Smile was said to be a man who sold his soul to the devil and was now immortal. He was born in the mountains, 7 Devils, in Idaho. He had moved to Oklahoma when he was 15, ran away from home after killing his abusive father. Afterwards, he took a liking into killing people. He dressed in huge clown shoes and clown clothes. He also wore black, thick makeup surrounding his eyes and the rest of his face white, except his mouth. It has painted bright red and had a sinister smile on it, even while he was making a killing. When he killed someone, it was said that he asked the frightened to give him a smile and then proceeded to stick a knife in their mouth and slitting both cheeks, in the form of a smile. Then he stuck his lips of the victims' lips and suck out the blood, like a vampire.

"Hey, I'm going to babysit the Townie's daughter tonight," I called out to Darry, who was about to leave for work.

He looked at me and then said, "Ok. Be careful, though."

"Alright," I said. Darry didn't believe in the Smile either. He thought it was just some urban legend or something. The only greaser that believed in the Smile was Two-Bit. He swore it was true, but who would ever listen to Two-Bit?

Sodapop left, too, and I was left alone. I took a quick shower and did my homework in order to kill time. No such luck. When I finished, it was only two thirty and I was supposed to be at the Townie's at five. So instead, I decided to watch some TV. The only thing that was on was this 'Dracula' movie, which was utterly different from the book.

It was finally four thirty and I was still alone. Strange, since Sodapop was almost always home by this time. Hmm… either he was being brutally attacked my love-desperate fan girls or he was working overtime.

I went to my (and Sodapop's) room to get dressed. I put on jeans and an old shirt with my sneakers that had a hole in them. I greased my hair and it was 4:50.

I decided to go already, since from my house to the Townie's it was only 5 minutes.

The streets were deserted and there was a slight breeze. I had chills, goose bumps, and an odd feeling that I was being watched.

I finally got to the Townie's and knocked on the door.

A nice looking woman opened the door, Mary. She was wearing a simple blood red dress and matching shoes. Her hair was in a bun at the top of her head. She smiled widely at me and then said, "You're early. Good. Come on in, I'll introduce you to Sophie."

I walked in and it was an average home. The furniture was old, probably the only thing they could afford. Suddenly, an enormous golden Labrador came into the room and started sniffing me with its wet nose.

"Well, that's Jacob. Now, where is Sophie? Sophie!" she called out and almost immediately a little girl came out. She had blonde, short, curly hair that was picked up in two little pigtails. She was wearing petite, pink pajamas and she was barefoot. She smiled at me and said, in a high pitched, squeaky voice, "Hi! My nwame is Swophie."

"Sophie, this is Ponyboy. He's going to be taking care of you while me and daddy are at your Auntie Heather's party. Ok?" Mary asked her daughter. The little girl just nodded her head and looked at her mother with her big, brown eyes.

"Now, Ponyboy, there's a list of emergency phone numbers on the refrigerator door. The police, hospital, and my sister's house. Now, if anything weird happens, you know with the whole Smile thing and all, just check in the second room to the left. That's my room. Stick your hand under the bed, where Jacob will be. If the dog licks you once, then everything is alright. If he licks you twice, then you should be aware of your surroundings. And if the dog licks you three times, I want you to close all the doors and windows, call the police and me, and hide with Sophie. Ok? Her bedtime is 7 and she likes to eat chocolate ice-cream before bed, but not too much."

"Yeah, sure," I said. Her message was really strange.

Mary smiled at me.

"Oh, shoot. I have to go now. John! John, come on! The party is starting!" Mary called out to her husband.

He came into the room and looked at me. He was a tall, broad man with a square jaw and cold gray eyes. He shook my hand without a word and he and his wife left. The dog went to the second room to the left and Sophie smiled at me.

"Can you twell me a stowy?" the little girl asked me.

"Oh, course," I said. I told her one about a princess, little elves, and a fire breathing dragon. That killed time.

It was 5:30 when I finished with the story and Sophie and I started seeing some Mickey Mouse cartoons till 6:30.

"Mwickey Mwouse is _so_ silly!" That phrase was repeated, at least, forty times. I swear, it's permanently etched into my brain.

I took Sophie to the kitchen and made her some ice-cream. She ate happily, wolfing the chocolaty good down. I don't even think she took a breath. Then, I took her to the bathroom, where she brushed her teeth. It was finally 6:52. She walked me into her room, where I carried her into her bed and tucked her in. I turned off the lights and said, "Goodnight," before closing the door on my way out.

"Nighty nwight," I heard her say. Then, there was silence. Finally.

**Yellow! Some of you might recognize this story. I wrote it about two or three years ago. I was looking through it and realized some mistakes in my writing, so here I am again, rewriting it. I have definitely improved in my writing. Don't worry, it's still the same story, just some things are fixed. I hope you like it. :) It'll only be a two-shot, by the way. I don't plan on adding anymore chapters than two. I'm focusing on my other stories. **


	2. The Death

**Chapter 2**

An hour had passed since I put Sophie to bed. I was currently entertaining myself by reading a book and occasionally checking to see if Sophie was all right. I had checked the dog a few times, but he'd only licked me once.

I was on the twentieth chapter of my book, when I started hearing noises. A slow drip, drop, drip, drop, drip, drop noise could be heard, but I just ignored it. A few seconds later, the phone rang. I reached out and picked it up from the table placed next to the couch.

"Townie residence," I said into the phone. On the other line, there was complete and total silence. But, even though it was entirely quiet, I knew that someone or _something _was on the other line. My heart started thumping faster, my blood rushing in me a million miles per second. Suddenly, there was a _click_ from the other line and the call went dead, the dial tone lingering for a while.

I didn't know what that was all about, but decided it was nothing. It was probably a prank call or something, most likely by Two-Bit.

Half an hour later, I started hearing the drip, drop, drip, drop, drip, drop noises again, but this time, they were faster. I was starting to feel an eerie, strange feeling. My heart was pounding and I was a bit scared. God, I was so paranoid. The phone rang once again.

"Hello? Townie residence," I said, expecting no answer. However, someone did respond.

"I am two blocks away from the house!" a hoarse, deep voice cried on the other line, and gave a diabolical and oddly clown-like laugh. Then, the line went, once again, dead. Yeah, definitely not Two-Bit. I put the book away quickly and went to check on Sophie. She was perfectly fine, sleeping like the baby she was. Then, I went to Mary's and John's room, where the dog was. I stuck my hand under and the dog licked me once.

I relaxed almost completely; almost. I went back to the living room and turned the television on. There wasn't anything, so I just left it on a random channel. 5 minutes passed by, slowly, taking it's time. I sighed.

Drip, drop, drip, drop, drip, drop – the noises came again. I sighed again. What the hell were those noises? The phone rang. Great—please note the sarcasm. I really wasn't feeling up to any pranks.

"Hello?" I said now, frustrated.

"I am one block away from the house," the man said, the same evil laugh ringing again in my ear. But before he could hang up, I said,

"Who are you? What do you want? Do you want to scare me, is that what you want?"

"Oh, no. I'm not trying to scare you. I'm trying to hurt you. And remember, never forget to…_smile," _he said. My eyed widened. _Holy shit._

I ran to Mary's room. I checked under the bed. The dog licked me twice. Oh, boy! This was bad. I ran around the kitchen, living room, and Sophie's room and locked all the windows and doors. I went back to the living room and kept my senses open. I started to relax. _The Smile isn't real and this is a prank. I really don't know why you're all worked up about this, Pony._

I heard the drip, drop, drip, drop, drip, drop noises, _again. _The phone rang. And I picked it up.

"What? What do you want? Leave me alone! Just stop it, ok? This really isn't funny. Go prank someone else," I said into the phone.

The man just laughed. "Now, why would I do that? This is too much fun! And once it begins, it never stops." Then, he laughed his weird laugh again and I fought the urge to roll my eyes. But, he hadn't hung up. After a few seconds of silence, he spoke again. "Oh, I forget to tell you. I'm inside the house."

My stomach clenched and a thousand knots found their way to the pit of my stomach. My heart was beating so fast, I was afraid it might stop any second now.

I went down the hall and checked on Sophie. She was ok, at least, for now. I went to Mary's room and stuck my hand underneath. Jacob licked me three times. 'Oh, crap!' I kept thinking to myself. I am in danger. Sophie is in danger. Why is this happening? I always do my homework. I'm a good kid.

I heard the drip, drop, drip, drop, drip, drop noises again, much faster and _closer_ than ever. I turned around slowly and cautiously opened Mary's closet. What I saw made my heart stop.

Jacob, the dog, was handing from the top of the closet, blood dripping down to the floor, drip, drop, drip, drop, drip, drop.

Wait! If the dog was hanging in the closet all this time, then who or _what_ was under the bed, licking me?

I felt a breath on the back of my neck. I heard the maniacal voice behind me.

"You want to see a magic trick? Don't worry. It'll make you _smile."_

The next day, Ponyboy's body was found. He had jagged cuts on his cheeks and it almost looked as if he was smiling. His body was also drained of all blood, making him look pale and soulless.

Sophie was completely unharmed. She hadn't seen anything that had happened, and her dad took her out on a walk while the police investigated the house the next day.

She was eating a chocolate ice cream cone. When she looked up at her dad, she noticed something strange.

"Daddy? What's thwat on your mwouth?" she asked, referring to the tiny drop of blood on her father's, John's, bottom lip.

He stopped walking and ran his tongue over his lip, clearing away any residue of blood. He kneeled down in front of the little girl and said, "Baby, do you want to see a magic trick? It'll make you _smile._"

**THE END!**

**Hope you liked it. Thank you all for the reviews. I will not be adding anymore chapters, by the way. I just don't know how it'll come out, and if I'm not sure about my writing, then I'm not going to post it online. Sorry. But anyways, I hope you enjoyed reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it. **


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